SM
Bradford vs. Notts County: 17 hrs 20 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
LL
EFL Cup | Quarter-Finals
Dec 18, 2018 at 7.45pm UK
 
MC

1-1

Man City win 3-1 on penalties
FT(HT: 0-1)
De Bruyne (14')

Manchester City survive penalty shootout to reach EFL Cup semi-finals

:Headline: Result: Manchester City survive penalty shootout to reach EFL Cup semi-finals: ID:344588: from db_amp
Holders Manchester City reach the semi-finals of the EFL Cup courtesy of a penalty shootout victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Manchester City needed a penalty shootout to overcome Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup for the second year in a row at the King Power Stadium this evening.

Almost exactly a year on from meeting at the same stage of last season's competition, the two sides were once again forced to go the distance after Marc Albrighton had cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne's opener.

However, a series of poor penalties were punished as Christian Fuchs, James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu all missed from the spot to allow Oleksandr Zinchenko to strike the killer blow.

Holders Man City now progress through to the semi-finals of the competition as they bid to retain a trophy for the first time in their history, and they will be joined in the last four by League One side Burton Albion after they shocked Middlesbrough this evening.

Both managers rang the changes as Leicester were without the injured Jamie Vardy, while Man City handed a debut to 17-year-old Eric Garcia, although the visitors were also able to start fit-again duo Sergio Aguero and De Bruyne.

The latter was making just his third start of the season due to a succession of injury problems, but it did not take him long to provide a reminder of his quality with the opening goal after only 14 minutes.

De Bruyne skipped away from Hamza Choudhury before whipping his disguised finish into the bottom near corner from 25 yards, with the crispness of his strike preventing Danny Ward from getting across in time.

It could have been two just four minutes later when Brahim Diaz's shot deflected into the path of Riyad Mahrez, but the former Leicester man blazed over from close range on his first return to the King Power Stadium since his £60m summer move.

The hosts responded quite well to going behind, though, and they almost produced an equaliser in the 21st minute when a deflected long-range strike from Demarai Gray needed to be turned past the post by Arijanet Muric.

That was as good as it got for Leicester in the opening 45 minutes, with a wayward Kelechi Iheanacho strike their only other effort, but Man City were struggling to create clear chances of their own as well, despite dominating possession.

Indeed, the holders needed to wait until the second half for their next opportunity, which arrived just two minutes after the restart when Mahrez released Aguero clean through on goal, only for Ward to come out on top in their one-on-one duel.

Aguero was denied by Ward again shortly before the hour mark, but as with the first half Leicester grew into proceedings and Harry Maguire fired a reminder that the hosts were still in the game with a headed chance that went begging.

Mahrez looked particularly intent on getting on the scoresheet against his former club and came within a whisker of doing so moments later with a wicked curling effort from the edge of the area which flashed narrowly over the crossbar.

Leicester were rewarded for staying in the game when they levelled things up with less than 20 minutes remaining as Albrighton latched on to Wilfred Ndidi's pass over the defence before taking the ball down and lashing his half-volley past a helpless Muric.

Mahrez came close again shortly after the equaliser with a low pass across the face of goal which dribbled wide of the far post, and Leicester also survived a penalty shout when Choudhury brought down Gabriel Jesus.

Penalties were eventually required to separate the two sides, though, and Man City appeared to have the early advantage when Fuchs blazed his spot kick over the crossbar.

Raheem Sterling offered a let-off with an attempted Panenka which also sailed over the bar, but Leicester then saw Maddison and Soyuncu both denied by Muric after stuttering run-ups.

Zinchenko made no such mistake by picking out the top corner with his decisive penalty as Man City sealed their place in the last four.

LEICESTER (4-5-1): Ward; Simpson, Soyuncu, Maguire, Fuchs; Ghezzal (Maddison 53'), Choudhury, Iborra (Albrighton 61'), Ndidi, Gray; Iheanacho (Pereira 81')

MAN CITY (4-3-3): Muric; Walker, Garcia, Otamendi, Zinchenko; De Bruyne (Gundogan 71'), Stones, Foden; Mahrez, Aguero (Jesus 76'), Diaz (Sterling 66')

amp_article__344588 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-12-25 11:00:12:
html db last update - 2021-03-02 04:02:33 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .